Red and Silver
by N7.Zero
Summary: Shepard awakens working for the enemy. Garrus takes responsibility for the death of his entire squad. They need each other as they are both haunted by their pasts. My take on the FemShep x Garrus romance. Hope you enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

This is a demo/intro chapter. Alright, if you know me, I also have a running Shep-Tali story but I decided to take a break for a while. This is my take on the FemShep-Garrus romance since it's the second best in the game in my opinion. It's just sad that I doesn't play out as well as the others. I will continue my other stories hopefully simultaneously with this.

* * *

Time seemed to move at a slow pace as inky figures formed all around her. She was consumed by what it seems to be a forest of black thin trees. Each step was achingly slow. To the distance, she saw a white structure. She turned slowly towards it. She could hear the ink figures. _He's not going to make it. That rocket looked pretty bad. Oh wait, get me the crash kit. He's flat-lining…_Then came the sounds of frantic medics and a defibrillator repeated hissing. She tried to block it out. She wasn't ready for the worst. She kept moving towards the structure which soon turned out to be a building, that same building on Omega. The voices changed to a huskier and heavier tone. _Archangel doesn't stand a chance. When Cathka gets the ship up and running, I'm gonna kill that sunuvabitch once and for all._ Her heartbeats got louder and heavier as she approached the walkway. Bodies in inky form were lying all around. She made even more effort as she rushed towards the stairs. The whispers of the figures began to die down. At the end of the corridor, she saw him. She saw Garrus in his shining silver armor. He looked back at her. Time slowed even more as flames began to consume him. Shepard frantically tried to reach out to no avail as all she could do was watch. She woke up. _It was just a dream._

Shepard got up with one hand supporting her weight and the other against her forehead, her fiery red hair covering part of her face. She'd been up all night since they brought in Garrus after he took that shot. She had been waiting in the mess hall, watching helplessly as Dr. Chakwas and her medical team worked on him. At one point, an assistant moved the curtains over the window so she couldn't see anymore what would become of what she had left. Eventually, Joker had to come down personally to tell her she needed some rest and that he'll notify her of any news. She stubbornly refused at first before finally deciding it was for the best.

She stood up while still gripping her sides. Her wounds have not fully healed when they woke her up from a two year coma. She almost limped to the bathroom. She was tired even though she'd slept. Nightmares never give one the gift of peace. She approached the lavatory and looked at herself in the mirror. In the dim light of her cabin, her scars still showed. She washed her face until she heard a ding at the door of her cabin. "Who is it, EDI?" The cynical AI was quiet which was unusual. _Ah, hell._ She got out to greet whoever was at the door.

"What the hell is-" Before she could finish, she realized it was Garrus. Her heart raced faster. _He didn't die. _She smiled and couldn't help but hug him.

"Well, you're certainly glad to see me." Garrus chuckled. She didn't recognize that he was now wearing a cloth over the side of his face.

"Wanna come inside? I've got drinks."

"Aw. Good to see that two years have passed and you haven't forgotten my favorites."


	2. Chapter 2

I thought about my previous Ch2 and realized I didn't really like the pacing. Sorry if it's short. I can only write these stories in my free time when I'm not studying circuits and integrals.

* * *

Shepard took a step back to let Garrus. She walked beside him as he admired the new Normandy. He paused at the aquarium. "Last fish I saw was in the Citadel." She chuckled as they moved on to the table next to her bed. He sat down while she hurried for her fridge. She grabbed two bottles of brandy, one being for turians only, and brought them over to the table. She sat opposite to him and handed him his bottle. They raised both their bottles. "Cheers." They each took a big gulp. She put her bottle down and crossed her legs.

"So, Shepard, a new Normandy? Cerberus must have some faith in you."

"They brought me back to fight the Collectors. And that's exactly what I'm going to do."

"Glad to see Cerberus hasn't changed you a bit. I'm fit for duty whenever you need me, Shepard."

"Thanks. It'd be nice to have someone I can trust by my side when I'm walking into hell."

"Well, we've already been through hell and back before. I'd say the Collectors are in for a rude awakening."

"Not sure about that but we sure as hell are going to try." She took another gulp. "How about you, Garrus? How've you been?"

"I guess you mean how I got stuck in that position." She nodded. He took a gulp of brandy as well then leaned forward.

"It was my own damn fault. I was betrayed by one of my own men."

"What was your squad like?"

"I had six guys including me. They weren't in it for the money. Each one of them had lost someone or something to those mercs. We only had one rule: No civilian casualties."

"So which one betrayed you?"

"A turian by the name of Sidonis lured me away from my men. He said he had a job he needed my help with. When I got there, he was gone. By the time I got back to my men, only two were left, wounded. They didn't last long."

"You sure it was him?"

"I'm sure. He cleared out his accounts before the mercs pinned us down. He sold me out and ran."

"Do you know where he is now?"

"No, but I swear I'll find him and make him pay for my men."

"Let me know when you find something."

She didn't like the look in his eyes. They were a cold grey. It was clear he was hurt but she saw something in him she never saw before.

They sat there in silence for a while until EDI's voice went over the intercom.

"Commander, Operative Lawson would like to see you in her office."

Shepard sighed and took a stretch. "Ah hell, I wonder what Cerberus wants from me now."

They both stood and headed for the lift. When it reached the crew deck, Garrus turned to face her.

"Thanks, Shepard, for the drinks...and for talking. I'll be calibrating the guns."

Then they went their seperate ways for now.


	3. Chapter 3

I just came up with a new plot twist. This story is going somewhere else than what I originally intended.

* * *

Garrus stood still as time lapsed at a slower pace. Darkness surrounded him and all he could make out were inky images of people he knew, his father, his mother and sister, his old C-Sec officer, his squad on Omega and Sidonis. He stopped at the last and looked the turian in the eye. Suddenly, the figures collapsed and only one emerged. He didn't know who it was. A disembodied voice echoed to him. _Protect her, Vakarian._ _Protect her at all cost. _The figure in front of him took form. It was Shepard in her N7 armor. Her fiery red hair covered part of her emerald green eyes. He stood there for a while before he attempted to reach forward to her. Just as he was about to lay a finger on her, she was pulled as debris fell before her. He saw the Normandy SR1 burning as she fell helplessly to some unknown planet.

He woke up taking a gasp of breath. He fell asleep leaning on one of the guns he was calibrating. _Huh, even here I'm screwing it up. _It had been two years since he last saw Shepard. He was the first to know along with Joker what became of her after the Normandy SR1's destruction. He was the only one who stayed with her after the Alliance wanted the crew dismantled. It left a hole in him knowing she was gone. Seeing her again on Omega, when he had given all hope and just wanted to die, brought him back from the dead.

Just before he and his squad took on Omega's worst, he had received a message from an unknown person telling him to "_Protect Shepard."_ Whoever it was knew him very well. Along with this message was a few thousand credits. He didn't believe it at first since he was sure Shepard had gone down with the ship. The credits, he put to good use. He bought himself a new gun and upgrades for his armor. Now, she's back. _I guess they weren't joking._ He replied to the same address that told him to protect her and he simply replied: _I will, I promise._

He took his new sniper rifle outfitted with a silencer and donned his new armor with adaptive camouflage. Shepard mentioned something about grabbing a salarian doctor out of the plague zone. She had told him that she wouldn't bring him along because she didn't want him to end up dying of the plague. He never really did follow orders well. He got up to the CIC and approached the yeoman.

"Oh, uh, Garrus, didn't think you'd be up here-"

"Where's Shepard?"

"She went into the plague zone with Miranda and Jacob."

Garrus nodded at her turned towards the airlock.

"She didn't want you to get sick…"

He turned his head to his side. "I've got bigger problems."

When he had stepped foot on Omega again, he darted towards the quarantine zone. The turian guard stopped him.

"Sorry, buddy, Aria says no one's getting in anytime soon. Besides, the plague will probably kill us both. I only let a few humans in minutes ago since they're immune and were packing a lot of firepower."

"I wasn't asking for permission." Garrus knocks the guard out with his fist and drags him behind a nearby dumpster. He puts on his breather helmet hoping it can help against the plague. He activates his camo and enters the quarantine zone.


	4. Chapter 4 Part 1

Part 1 of 2 (possibly 3) part Chapter.

When I finished the Citadel DLC and saw the Garrus and FemShep scene, I was speachless. I am DEFINITELY going to add that scene in this hopefully in the future.

My chapters will get more conversation intensive later on. For now, I'm just building up a premise for the main part.

* * *

Garrus scanned the area in front of him for an access route. There was a barricade set up by Aria's guards. He thought it'd be best to bypass them. He couldn't afford a firefight. He spotted two snipers on the barricade and another atop a makeshift tower. The rest were riflemen patrolling the area with one guarding the door towards the plague zone, itself. Spotlights were present as well. He eventually found a fire escape which had been pulled down. He activated his camouflage and crept towards the ladder, hiding in the shadows behind pillars and wreckage. He could already hear the firefight going on just beyond the barricade.

Suddenly, he stopped as two guards were making a round right in front of him. His face was inches from their guns.

"Shepard doesn't waste any time. She's almost like Aria."

"I wonder which will make the higher body count: The plague or her?"

"My money's on the crazed Spectre mowing down mercs."

Garrus couldn't help but grin. _She was a bit crazy._ He moved on after the two had passed and made it to the ladder. He slowly climbed, careful not to make too much noise. When he got up, he had a good vantage point over the area. He zoomed in to the direction where the gunshots could be heard. Sure enough, he spotted a squad of three humans caught in a firefight between the Blue Suns and vorcha gangs. Shepard stood out in her grey N7 armor and fiery red hair that now covered part of her face. Garrus rushed towards their direction so he could set up his rifle. He leapt across buildings and jumped over ventilation ducts as fast as he could. He got into a nice spot overlooking the firefight. Luckily, the Blue Suns and the vorcha didn't really get along and they were also trying to kill each other. Shepard's squad was made up of Miranda, the Cerberus operative and an old merc who was very fond of cursing.

Garrus prepped his rifle. He aimed for the snipers first. He was silent but deadly. Krogans began bursting into battle. They charged at anyone who wasn't a vorcha. Shepard's squad focused their fire on one. The tough son of a bitch took a beating before going down. Another krogan plowed his way through the Blue Suns. Garrus remembered from his training back in C-Sec about krogan weak points. He carefully aimed for the krogan's neck. He loaded an armor-piercing shot, held his breath and fired. The krogan fell over another merc. The firefight lasted a few more seconds as vorcha flamethrowers charged in a last-ditched effort to oust the Blue Suns. He also made quick work of them, aiming for the fuel tanks on their backs. When it was over, Shepard got out of cover, not noticing the Archangel that looked over her.

He let out a sigh. He pulled back and sat on a ventilation duct. He put his head down. His wound still hurts like hell. Wearing a helmet surely didn't help him.

He thought about how the people of Omega called him Archangel. It probably fit him now. He also thought about the dream he had and the mysterious figure who contacted him. Finally, he thought about his squad. Those brave men he felt he had failed to protect. He couldn't save them but at least he can protect her, Shepard. It was now his duty to look after her, to protect her. The savior of the savior. He wouldn't let her die again like two years before or like his squad. _Shepard doesn't have to know about this. She's got bigger problems._

When he was done clearing his thoughts, he got up and prepared to shadow Shepard and her team. Something caught his eye. A red dot appeared on Shepard's back. It was a targeting laser. He immediately retrieved his rifle and sighted down. He traced the laser to a lone merc who managed to get away from the firefight. Garrus placed his sights on the merc's head and shot him. That shot was the last his thermal clip would allow. He pulled the bolt and the clip fell to the ground.

"Not a chance."


End file.
